ELECTRIC VEHICLES: California Gov. Gavin Newsom says Tesla’s success has been made possible by $3.2 billion of direct and indirect state subsidies and market mechanisms the company has received since 2009. (San Francisco Chronicle)

ALSO: Portland General Electric awards six electric buses to five school districts in the Portland, Oregon, area. (KOIN)

TRANSPORTATION: The U.S. EPA rejects Colorado’s request for an exemption from a mandate to switch to cleaner, reformulated gasoline in areas declared in “severe” nonattainment for ozone. (Colorado Sun)

GRID: Federal data show California’s electricity demand dropped 2,100 MW within moments after an emergency alert was sent out during the peak of the September heat wave, averting rolling outages. (Energy Information Administration)

UTILITIES:
• California energy justice advocates call on Los Angeles utilities to permanently end shutoffs for nonpayment, saying “power is a human right.” (LAist)
• Oregon regulators approve rules aimed at protecting low-income households at risk of utility service disconnection due to nonpayment during extreme cold or heat. (news release)

CLIMATE: Arizona researchers find rates of heat-related deaths in manufactured homes are eight times those in permanent housing, blaming poor insulation and high air-conditioning costs. (High Country News)

OIL & GAS:
• An environmental group sues the Biden administration to force it to halt new offshore oil and gas drilling along southern California’s coast and review safety plans for existing rigs after a spill last year sullied water and beaches. (Reuters)
• A Republican U.S. congressman from Alaska introduces a bill that would mandate federal oil and gas lease sales and speed permitting, offering an indication of the party’s agenda if it takes control of Congress in November. (E&E News, subscription)

COAL: As the San Juan coal plant in northwest New Mexico ceases operations, environmental advocates shift their focus to ensuring the site and adjacent mine is properly reclaimed. (NM Political Report)

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SOLAR:
• A developer proposes a 250 MW solar installation with 1,000 MWh battery storage at a 21,000 acre solar park in central California. (The Sentinel)
• A California regulator says the state has outgrown its net metering policy for rooftop solar because of skyrocketing electricity rates, but advocates say the payments ensure distributed generation benefits the grid. (S&P Global)
• An Idaho county urges regulators to reject a proposal to cut compensation for rooftop solar, citing a report finding an Idaho Power analysis undervalued residential distributed generation. (Idaho Mountain Express)

NUCLEAR: The U.S. Defense Department issues a request for proposals to construct a nuclear microreactor at an Air Force Base in Alaska. (KUAC)

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Jonathan hails from southwestern Colorado and has been writing about the land, cultures, and communities of the Western United States for more than two decades. He compiles the Western Energy News digest. He is the author of three books, a contributing editor at High Country News, and the editor of the Land Desk, an e-newsletter that provides coverage and context on issues critical to the West.